Monday, May 07, 2007

NIGHT LOST by Lynn Viehl

This is the fourth installment of the Darkyn. The Darkyn are a sort of vampire although they all eschew the use of the tag 'vampire' in the books. There are similar elements to vampires such as the ingestion of blood and day sleep. However the Darkyn also have individual gifts. These gifts can vary from being able to read the mind of a killer (note -- not every person's mind, only killers), to compelling the actions of others with voice alone. Silver is not the Darkyn's kryptonite, but copper is. Also, as a part of their ability to attract humans to them for their necessary blood donation, each Darkyn has a distinct fragrance like roses, or lavendar, or honeysuckle. When they feel a strong emotion they are likely to permeate the air with their fragrance.I have to say I enjoyed this installment of the series every bit as much as the first one. There is nothing tired or re-done here. Somehow Ms. Viehl has been able in each of these four books to tie together the necessary elements of the Darkyn world while creating unique and individual couples in each one.This book is not only about the central characters Gabriel Seran and Nicola Jefferson, but it also continues the story of the struggle of the Darkyn to survive undetected in a modern technological world while being relentlessly hunted by a secret sect of the Catholic church called the Brethren. The Brethern's sole purpose for existence is to ferret out the Darkyn and remove them from the face of the earth. All in the name of good and God of course. While you can read this book as a stand alone. It would serve you well to have read the first one IF ANGELS BURNnot only because there are recurring characters but it will make the reading of NIGHT LOST a more fulfilling and robust experience.The next installment, EVERMORE is due out in January 2008. This is one series I'm no where near tired of and anxious to see continue. You can take a look at what Tara Marie had to say about NIGHT LOST here.Ms. Viehl writes romantic suspense as Jessica Hall such books as THE DEEPEST EDGEand INTO THE FIRE. She is also writes the sci-fi STAR DOCseries as S.L. Viehl. Her blog PAPERBACK WRITERis a great place for aspiring writers with lots of information of where to find stuff like research material, free software downloads, and contests and places to submit work. PBW is also the place to catch the latest news on all the different genres, books, excerpts and release dates.